Improvement in horse-rakes



G; E. BURT.

' Horsef Rake:

Patented Dec. 29,1868.

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GEORGE E.l BURT, HARVARD, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters .Patent No. 85,27 5, dated December 29, 1868.

IMPRQVEMENT IN HORSE-RAKES.

lTo all-whom 'at may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. Bon'r, of Harvard, in the county of \Vorcester, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Horse-Rakes; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

.It is well known that wooden teeth for hay-lakes are much more desirable than wire, as the wooden teeth collect the hay in better condition, and donot catch the grass-roots, or gather the dust Aand foul inaterial, like the wir'eteeth; but vthe great obstacle. to their general use, in this. section, is the liability of breaking the teeth, by their coming .in contact vwith high, abrupt obstacles.

The nature ot' my invention consists in constructing and arranging the teeth and arms to wooden independ-v ent-acting raketecth, in such a manner that they may pass high, abrupt obstacles freely, without any liability of injury to either the teeth or the arms.

Also, in constructing and .combining independentacting wooden teeth with springs and a lever, so arranged that the operator may hold the teeth down in heavy hay,and yet leave each tooth free to spring up.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construe# tion and operation. v

In the accompanying drawings- YV is the wheel. i

F is the shaft.

on, the axle. v

D, the seat. i

E, thel seat-springs, which are firmly attached to the shafts F. 1

L is a hand-lever, pivoted to the shaft F, by pivot n.

S is a foot-treadle, secured to the axle m.

I and Y are connecting-arms, that connect the. lever L with the rod y.

V is an upright standard, that supports the rod y.

O is a brace to the lever L and arm I.

a is a hinge, that connects the shaft Il to the axle m.

B and C are independent arms, pivoted to the tooth A by pivots p and 1c. 5

The arm C is pivoted tothe axle m, by the rod :t and spring c.

The arm B is pivoted, by the rod 1/ and standard V, to the axle on.

The springs fr and standards V are. firmly fixed to the axle, and act as arms to support the rods a: and y, which pass through holes in the upper ends of the arms (l and B.

rIhe arm B is pivoted to the tooth A, below the arm C, at the lower end, and to the standard V at a point above the arm C, at the upper end, in such a manner that the 'arm C and arm B cross cach other above the l tooth, thus tbrn'iing a brace for the tooth, and hold-- ing ittirmly in position to operate.

Operation.

\Vhen'the rake is put into peration in the field, the teeth gather tl1i.'hav substantially in the same manner as any of the indepemlentf-tooth rakes now in \1se,bnt when any high or abrupt obstacle comes in contactwith the teeth, they give back, turning on the `four pivoted points, z, 1l' and p and the rods x and y.

The arm C forms an angle with the tooth- A, the

point of which is pressed backward by the onward n'rovement of the rake, andthe angle of the tooth with the arm- C is increased by the action of the arm B, as the armszfre elevated bythe 'backward pressure of the tooth against an obstacle.

It will be seen bythe position ofthe arms and tooth, in the dotted lines representingl a tooth passing an abrupt obstacle, that by this arrangement the tooth will easily yield toany obstacle that will pass under {'ne axle, without anyi'njury to the tooth or to any part ofthe rake. A

The springs I'1.' tend to hold the teeth down in heavy hay, but if the arms are made of sutlicicnt weight, the weight will operate to the same end.

Then the rake is full, it may be discharged by the operator pressing the foot-lever down with his foot, or by drawing the hand-lever towards him. By either device the power applied acts'substantially the same, viz, to turn the axle over forward on the hinges (t upon the shafts, and the rake is tilted up and discharged.

Ifithe crop is very heavy, the operator may press down the points ofthe teetlnby pressingl the lever L forward. rlhe force thus exerted acts on the arms I and Y, which form a toggle-joint between the pivots n on the shaft and the rod y, which act powerfully to turn -the axle over backward, and press down on all the points of the teeth by means ofthe springs'fv.

By the above arrangement and construction of parts, a very cheap independent wooden-tooth rake is constructed, which will pass high, abrupt obstacles without injury, having a tooth sufliciently rrn to gather the hay, but which will yield to fixed obstacles.

This arrangement also enables the operator to hohldown the rake-teeth in heavy grass.

What I claim as lnyinv-'entioln and wish to secure by Letters Patent, isv 1. lhe tooth A, when pivoted to and held in position by two independent arms', B andvC, substantially as described for the purpose' set forth. 2. The arrangement of the tooth-A, bars B and U, and springs fr, the whole operating in the manner and' for the purpose described. Y

GEORGE E. BUR'I. lVitnesses E. A. HILDRETH, S. B. Hrnnnn'rn. 

